Happy New Year! Here’s to 2018 and a new year full of possibilities. What are your resolutions, if any, for the new year?
I thought I would start off the new year with an update on my golden pup, Brinkley (see meet brinkley). Brinkley is now 8 months old – obviously still very much a young puppy but his growth has been significant from a tiny ball of fluff I could hold in my arm to a 50-lb. adorable and handsome dog.
He still has some growing (goldens will continue grow throughout their first 24 months). Brinkley is on the lower end of the weight spectrum for average male golden retrievers his age; he’s neither under nor overweight (I can feel his ribs, but they are not visible). Golden retrievers are prone to obesity, so proper nutrition is very important. Brinkley is fed Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream puppy food. The primary ingredient is salmon, and it also has plenty of probiotics. Lots of protein and fiber. He was switched to this food after having digestive issues with his previous dry food. Taste of the Wild has been doing wonders for his digestive health and his coat. It’s a bit on the pricey end of dog food, but nutrition is critical to his growth and health and that’s something that I’m not willing to skimp on.
Behavior-wise, I still need to get him to obedience training. He’s a very intelligent dog and he’s very well-behaved indoors. I’ve been lucky that he’s never chewed on shoes, wires, or anything other than his toys at home. Outdoors is a different story. He’s generally okay, but he does tend to jump on/run towards strangers and his leash walking could still use work. I’ve been practicing with him by bringing treats with me on our walks and getting him to heel as much as possible, but it’s definitely worth a trip to a class in the next couple of weeks. I’m also interested in enrolling him in an agility class in the future, after obedience training.
At 3 months, he knew the following tricks: sit, down, roll over, up, high five, turn, shake, stay, leave it, crate, drop it, and back. He’s now added double high-five (both paws), front door, downward dog, weave, side walk, side, bang, and sit pretty to his repertoire. Sit pretty was the most recent and it actually took awhile for him to get the hang of this trick, as he was getting used to balancing on his hind legs.
Brinkley loves to play soccer (or attempt to chew the soccer ball), running, fetching toys, and meeting new pups and humans. He would be the worst guard dog ever, both because he loves to meet strangers and because he doesn’t bark to alert to approaching strangers. I can’t wait to start hiking and camping with him.
Of course, no post about Brinkley is complete without photos. Enjoy!
alice from va 